Star Trek : Ta'kel
by Cephalopod
Summary: The Star Ship Enterprise has a new member. Ta'kel, half Vulcan half Human, throws only a small kink in the smooth voyage of the ship, but affects many as she does. Bones/OC/Kirk, and many other pairings. M for language and situations in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: A New Member

I do not own Star Trek, though I wish I did. I only own Ta'kel...

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_Space, the final frontier, these are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise; her continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, and go where no one has gone before._

The turbo lift opened onto the bridge, the screen showing hyperspace in all its beauty. The crew was set in their places, everything as normal as it had been for a while. The figure standing in the turbo lift smirked, knowing that she was about to throw a few things off.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain?" the woman asked, her voice beautiful and resonating.

The young captain turned to see the tall, almost Amazonian, woman standing there. She was wearing standard science officer uniform, the short skirt threatening to show what the womanizer was wishing to see. Her hair was straight, cascading down her back in a red river.

"What's your name and rank?" the blond man asked.

"Lieutenant Ta'kel, Medical Officer," the woman stated, the smirk not leaving her face. The Captain noticed her focus was in the direction of his first officer. "Requesting permission to come aboard your ship, Captain Kirk."

"Granted," Kirk smiled at the woman. Admiral Pike had told the younger man that a new medical officer was being sent. He said she was high ranking and very important, for what, he left out. The woman approached him and handed him a PADD with, what he assumed, her information on it. "Lieutenant Ta'kel, Dr. McCoy is expecting you in sickbay as soon as possible. My first officer will escort you there," Kirk said, motioning for Spock to approach them. "Lieutenant, this is..."

"Spock, we've met," the woman stated, smiling broadly at the Vulcan. "I'm sorry to cut you off sir. It's good to see you again Spock. It's been too long."

"Not long enough…" Spock commented under his breath, almost inaudible.

"Well, that's good to hear. Spock, escort her to sickbay and then report back here," Kirk said, smirking and wondering how the two knew each other.

Spock motioned for the woman to step into the lift and followed her. Once the doors closed Ta'kel began to laugh and she hugged the man.

"Pip-squeak! I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed.

"I knew the nick name would come back," Spock said calmly into her shoulder.

"How have you been? You got yourself a girl yet, or have you claimed that hot man of a captain back there?"

"Are you implying that I have romantic or sexual feelings for Jim? Because I assure you I do not."

"Alright, I believe you. But the question is, do you have someone?"

"You're asking if I'm in a romantic relationship?"

"Yes already!" Ta'kel exclaimed, starting to get annoyed.

"I am currently in a relationship with Uhura, the communications officer on this ship."

"Good for you man. Is she human?"

"Very much."

Ta'kel slapped the man on the shoulder. "No shit!"

"Have you taken a mate?" Spock asked as the lift came to a halt. The two exited and started walking down the hall.

"Me? Taking a mate? So you don't know me that well, do you? No man could take being with me for long periods of time," she replied, laughing.

"I can stand you for long periods of time," Spock pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're like my little brother, so it doesn't count."

The two walked into sickbay just in time to hear the sound of someone vomiting and another person swearing. A brown haired man walked into the sight of the two, his shirt covered in someone else's lunch.

"Dr. McCoy," Spock said, motioning to the man in front of them.

"I have a feeling today's going to be bad," the woman said, staring at the scene before her.

"Well, I must return to my post. Introduce yourself to him and be useful. I shall see you later." And with that, Spock left.

Ta'kel approached the man, hands behind her back. The sick man popped out from his bed, his hands being held by nurses.

"Sir, lay down," Ta'kel said softly, pushing him firmly back onto the bed, "We can't help you if you won't lay down."

"Who are you?" McCoy asked from the other side of the room.

Ta'kel turned to see him pulling his shirt off. He was a well-muscled man, despite the fact that he did look more aged than most of the crew. He had strong arms and well-defined abs. Ta'kel was speechless as his muscles flexed with his movements.

"I'm Lieutenant Ta'kel. I'm a new medical officer," she replied, regaining her senses.

"So, you're a new nurse," he said in an uncaring tone.

"I'm no nurse. I'm a doctor, one of the best. I was trained by a highly esteemed doctor."

"Everyone says that. Who was it?" he asked. He walked back over to his patient and injected the man.

"Dr. Phlox," she said, placing her hands on her hips. He glared at her and returned to his work. She watched as he scanned the man and injected him. After another scan the man put down his tricorder and walked over to his office. Ta'kel decided to follow him.

"So you're here as a new officer? Well, just because you studied under Dr. Phlox doesn't mean you get any special treatment."

"I never expected any. What can I start with?" The woman smiled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, first, since you're new you need a physical. Since I've finished with that man I guess I can do that now." He motioned for her to leave the room.

She hopped up onto a bio-bed and he started to scan her. She saw his general surprise as he read the readings.

"You're half Vulcan," he almost whispered.

"Yes, that surprising to you?" she asked, a broad smile appearing on her face.

"I never expected a green blooded hob-goblin to show emotions. Congratulations, you've managed to surprise me. Other than that you're healthy." He put down his tricorder and started to walk away.

"Did you just call me a green blooded hob-goblin?" she asked. She hopped off the bed and walked next to the grumpy man.

"Yes I did," he stated casually. He started studying some scans on a screen. "You can start by reviewing these tests." He handed her a PADD and she snatched it from his hands.

"I'd be delighted."

Hours passed, and Ta'kel sat in sick bay, working. She sighed and put down the scans she was studying and stretched. Her bones cracked as she lifted her arms above her head. She ran her hands through her hair, pulling it back to reveal her pointed ears, and tied it in place. Returning her attention to the PADD she was working on, she was interrupted by a man walking in and announcing the change in shifts. She sighed in relief and got up. As she walked towards the door she noticed Bones still working in his office.

"You know it's the end of A shift," she said, leaning against the doorway into his office.

"I know," was his simple reply.

"You know, I haven't been on this ship long. I was wondering if you could show me…"

"No." She let out her breath, exasperated at his immediate response. "I have work."

"I understand. I'll just try to find my way around. I wonder which way the rec-room is?" she said to herself as she walked off.

The man sighed and put down his work. He got up and walked behind her. "I wouldn't want you getting lost and hurt. It'd just mean more work for me."

The woman smirked. "Thank you."

Bones led her down the hall and into the turbo lift. He said a command and the lift started to move. The two stood in silence until the lift stopped. Neither had anything to say to the other, for Ta'kel's mind was mainly thinking about the man's body. They reached a large pair of doors that Ta'kel assumed was the rec-room. She opened the doors and saw a large room full of people. She smiled as she saw Spock sitting with a dark woman.

"Here's the rec-room," Bones said, turning to walk away.

"Wait, aren't you going to take a break. I'm sure my friend wouldn't mind you tagging along."

"Who's your friend?" McCoy asked, intrigued at the notion that this woman already had friends on the ship.

"Spock, or as I call him, Pip-squeak." She smiled and Bones chuckled at her nickname for the Vulcan.

"Alright." The two walked over to Spock's table.

"Mind if we join?" Ta'kel asked. Spock motioned for her to sit down and she smiled at him. She took her seat next to the Vulcan and turned her attention to the African beauty sitting across form her. "Ta'kel," she said, offering her hand to the other woman.

"Uhura," the woman replied, a warm smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you. How do you and Spock know each other?"

"Well, our parents knew each other, although I can't say that they've liked each other since they met. I must say my father hated his for a while," Ta'kel laughed as she patted Spock on the shoulder.

"Although I cannot say that my father hated yours, or that your mother hated my father," Spock added.

"No, no, no. Hate is a strong emotion, my mother would never admit to feeling it towards anyone, especially a member of the Vulcan High Council."

"You're Vulcan?" Uhura asked, surprised.

"Half Vulcan, half Human. I was raised on a ship of almost all humans, so I was never taught to fully suppress my emotions," Ta'kel explained.

"You guys started the party without me!" said the Captain as he approached.

"Captain!" Ta'kel exclaimed, getting up from her seat. The others started laughing.

"We're off duty right now. Call me Jim," Kirk said, sitting down on Spock's other side.

They continued their conversation and were joined by two other men, both very young humans. The first, named Pavel Chekov, was about 17 years old and from Russia. The other, Hikaru Sulu, was Asian and very handsome himself. But the real fun started when Montgomery Scott joined the group.

"Scotty! You decided to leave your work and join us. How wonderful," Kirk said, greeting the man.

"Scott?" Ta'kel asked, glaring at the man. "Do you mean Montgomery Scott?" The others nodded. "You can go die in a hole."

"What did I do?" the man asked, confused and hurt.

"That dog was a good dog, he deserved better."

"Oh, ya heard about _that,_" he sighed as he sat down. The others chuckled. She only glared at him. "Look, ya gotta let things go every once in a while!"

"Once you give Admiral Archer his beagle back," she retorted.

"Damn it!" Scotty said, banging the table. "Ya know it was an accident, right?"

"Yes." She only glared more.

"Look, ya can't hate me forever. At least give me a chance."

"Fine, but I have my eyes on you." She was still glaring, causing Kirk to start laughing uncontrollably. "Do you find it funny that that dog lost its life?"

"No, I find it funny that you're so mad," Kirk replied, still cracking up.

"I'm a vegetarian, what do you expect?"

"Why do you call Spock Pip-squeak?" Uhura asked, changing subjects.

Ta'kel smiled. "Well that's easy to answer. Shockingly, I'm much older than the little man. When we first met he was a little guy, much smaller than me. I couldn't remember his name, and by that I mean I wasn't paying attention when I was told it, so I called him the first thing that came to mind, and it kind of stuck."

"How old are you?" Bones asked, not thinking.

"How rude! You don't ask a woman her age!" Ta'kel retorted.

The group continued their talking into the night. It escalated into a chess match between Spock and Chekov, Spock being the obvious winner. Spock sat back satisfied, not expecting Bones to step up and challenge him to a game. The match had just started when Ta'kel realized how tired she really was.

"I think I'm going back to my quarters. It was nice seeing you again," she said, tapping Spock on the shoulder and then walking off. Kirk broke away from the group and followed her.

"How was your first day on the job?" he asked, looking the woman up and down.

"Interesting. Dr. McCoy got barfed on, but other than that it was uneventful," she replied, smiling at the extremely attractive man.

"His nick name is Bones, just so you know."

"Well, I believe you know how much I like nick names."

"What do you think of the crew?"

"There are some very fine specimens here. It makes me wish I wasn't half Vulcan." Kirk smiled at this. "I'm looking forward to working and living here. I can tell that you're all very nice people."

"Well that's a good thing, right?"

"Yes. Thank you for walking me here. I would have probably gotten lost if you hadn't," she said once they reached her room.

"My pleasure. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Jim watched the woman's figure disappear into the dark room beyond the door. He noticed how wonderfully proportioned she was and smiled. He knew he was going to have some fun with her.


	2. Chapter 2: Away Team

Ta'kel had been on the ship for four months now and was doing quite well. Most of the crew had accepted her and recognized her. She spent more and more time with the Captain and his group of friends. The only one of them that was still distant was the Doctor, which she found odd since they worked together every day.

Ta'kel walked towards sickbay, ready for a regular day at work. As she came into view of the door she heard the comm. come on.

"Ta'kel to the launch bay," said Spock's logical voice. Ta'kel sighed and turned around and walked towards the launch bay.

The door opened and she walked into the launch bay. She saw Spock and the Captain standing next to each other, facing two other people. She could recognize Dr. McCoy as one of the two, but the other was a man in a red uniform that she didn't know.

"Lieutenant Ta'kel," Spock greeted, "You have been chosen to accompany Dr. McCoy and crewman Itena on an away mission. We have received a distress signal from an Earth Colony. They claim that there is an epidemic that is in almost all the cities on their planet and they have no cure yet."

"And since you two are the best doctors we have, and we're the closest ship to the planet, you two are going," Kirk said, smiling. "You'll depart immediately. So, board your shuttle and be off." Kirk left promptly. Ta'kel was still put off by his odd behavior, but she rolled her eyes and boarded the shuttle with Bones and Itena.

Ta'kel sat next to Bones as they took off. She could sense anxiety in the man. "What are the symptoms of this epidemic?" the Vulcan asked.

"Symptoms start with chest pains, coughing, sputum is coughed up, later in with blood. It continues to develop with skin ruptures and fevers. Very high, hard to break. The patients usually die of suffocation."

"Sounds a lot like tuberculosis," Ta'kel grabbed the specks from the man.

"Comes on too fast. They don't fight it off easily enough. It's too violent for that, and the fever is quite high."

"It was just a suggestion. Clearly it's a respiratory infection."

"That's ingenious! Why didn't I think of that?" He glared at her, clearly being sarcastic.

"Alright, you don't have to be an annoying bitch about it. Are there any other symptoms?"

"Further on there's a slow onslaught of paralysis. It has nothing to do with a respiratory infection. Usually if the patient doesn't die by drowning in mucus, their heart just stops."

"Sounds wonderful," Ta'kel chuckled. She heard the crewman squeak. "You alright up there?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, his face turning white. "What happens if we catch this disease?"

"We die," Bones said, his usual uncaring demeanor.

"We don't die," Ta'kel assured when she heard the crewman start to panic. "We figure out what's wrong and fix it," she told the young man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The rest of the voyage was spent with the two doctors bouncing idea after idea off each other. Dr. McCoy was very blunt and dismal while talking, causing a few panic attacks with the other crew member.

"I thought doctors were supposed to stop this kind of thing," Ta'kel said, calming Itena down for the fifth time in the past ten minutes.

"I'm a doctor, not a freaking psychologist. It's not my problem he can't handle the truth. I won't baby the man. Besides, he should have more confidence in us."

"How can he have confidence when all you talk about is all of us dieing of this disease!" she exclaimed, getting up in Bones's face.

"How is he supposed to learn that not everything is all bright and dandy if you keep telling him that everything is!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Itena, interrupting the two.

"What?" both exclaimed, turning towards the lower ranking man.

"We're here," he told the two. They looked at each other and proceeded to sit in the seats furthest apart.

The shuttle landed on the surface of the planet without a problem. The three exited the small craft and were greeted by a very tired looking man. He looked dirty and like he hadn't slept in days.

"Hello. I'm Nathanial Bordeaux, the governor over this settlement. You must be Doctors McCoy and Ta'kel. We are very grateful that you are here. All of our physicians have had no luck in treating this illness," the man explained.

"It's never a matter of luck, just competence," Bones mumbled.

"We're glad to help," Ta'kel said over the man's reply. She glared at him, "We should probably get started. Do you have an area where you're keeping the infected?"

"We're keeping them at the hospital, of course," the man told her, as if it was obvious and she should've known.

"Well good, take us there," Ta'kel said, trying not to sound annoyed. "We have no idea how this is spreading so I think everyone should boil their water before they drink it and facemasks should be passed out. Have you quarantined anyone?"

"Of course. That's standard procedure. We've been doing it for a while now. You act like we are incompetent and have no idea what we're doing."

"Yeah, Ta'kel. You're treating him like he knows nothing," Bones mocked her. She glared and he smirked.

They were led to the over crowded hospital. The doctors that were working there gave them information and they did scans. Ta'kel spent most of her time doing first hand work with patients. She noticed that humans were the only ones infected. That could mean many things, the most likely that there weren't any other species on the planet, but the one she most wanted to be true was that only humans were susceptible to the virus. _Maybe it'll get rid of the inconsiderate douche,_ she thought to herself.

She left late at night to return to where she was staying. When she got there she realized that the three members of the Enterprise were forced to house together. She scowled at Bones and retreated into her room with a plethora of bio-scans.

Bones retired to his quarters later, tossing and turning on his bed. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't beat his insomnia. Finally, after a long time lying awake, sleep took hold of him.


	3. Chapter 3: Surprising Dreams

He stared out over an ocean, the sun peaking over the horizon. A womanly figure stood in front of the sun, creating a dark shadow. The ocean winds whipped at the woman's hair and dress, which seemed to be a little short for the cool temperature. The woman turned to look at him, her red lips smiling at him. The neckline of her dress was tantalizingly low, a very delightful thing for Leonard.

This dream he knew, for he had had it before. Every time the woman was a faceless beauty, but this time it was different. The woman was Ta'kel, no matter how much he tried to deny it. The beautiful woman was the Vulcan that he so hated.


	4. Chapter 4: A Cure

Bones woke with a start. He sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He got up and dressed, smelling something sweet in the air. Walking out of his room he saw Ta'kel's back in the kitchen. She was still in her sleep ware, which wasn't necessarily a good thing (Bones's dreams could be more detailed now). He sat down at the table and sighed.

"Look," he said, causing her to turn around, "If we're going to work on solving this problem we can't be fighting. So let's put our differences aside until we fix this."

She smiled and put a plate in front of him. "How about we just put our differences aside, forever. Listen, I've heard a lot of great things about you form Jim and Pip-squeak, and I want to be your friend, or at least your mutual acquaintance. So how about it?" she asked, picking up a fork and starting to eat from her own plate. Bones noticed the lack of meat on her plate.

"Alright," he said after thinking for a while, "But you can't blame me for not softening the truth. I am incapable of doing that."

"You've done it before," she said, causing him to give her a look of shock. "When Jim came in sick last month, there was the possibility of it being something really serious and incurable, but you told him it was very unlikely; we both know it's a miracle he didn't have it."

"Well, I knew he'd be fine," the man replied.

"How?" She looked at him with her gorgeous brown eyes big and curious.

"It's Jim. Nothing horrible ever happens to him that he can't get out of. That man could jump off the Grand Canyon and survive." The Vulcan scoffed at that.

The two sat quietly for a while before Ta'kel spoke again. "Have you figured anything out yet about the epidemic?"

"It's odd, it seems like it's TB but it's not. It also seems like multiple sclerosis, but there seems to be no nerve damage and none of the tests are positive."

Then a thought struck Ta'kel. "Holy shit!" She pushed her chair back and started running for the door. Bones, slightly confused, followed her to the town hall. She walked up to the governor.

"Have you had any contact with Andorians?" she asked, out of breath from sprinting there.

"Yes, we trade with them often. Why?" the governor replied, confused.

"That's it! I know what this is!" She ran off towards the hospital, still in her nightgown. Bones chased after her.

"What's it?" he asked when he caught up to her.

"When I was younger, a group of Andorians boarded our ship. About a week after they had left, the crew started to become sick. It seemed like TB but it also had the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Almost everyone on the ship came down with it, except my mother, the doctor, and myself. Yesterday I noticed that only humans seemed to be getting sick."

"Well what is it that's making them sick?"

"It's called Tasari. It's like the common cold to Andorians, but in humans it basically destroys their immune system."

"So how do we treat it?"

"With this," she replied holding up a hypo-spray she had prepared.

The two started to administer the treatment to a few patients. Within ten minutes the subjects showed signs of improvement. Ta'kel explained to the other doctors what she had discovered and told them how to deal with it. For the rest of the day Ta'kel and Bones were administering treatment to all the inhabitants of the city, since it was clear that almost everyone was infected.

"On Andoria this sickness has been completely eradicated, or so they thought," Ta'kel explained to Bones, "When they came onto our ship they had no idea that they were infecting the entire crew. A few days later, when the crew started showing symptoms, the Andorians told the doctor about Tasari. Of course, the humans' symptoms were worse than the symptoms for Andorians, but they were basically the same thing. I helped the doctor modify the vaccine to work on humans and cure them."

"Did you lose anyone?" Bones asked.

"We almost lost my dad," Ta'kel commented, her voice getting very soft.

"That must've been scary," Bones commented, looking towards the woman.

"It was. That was the first time I saw my mom get worried."

"Your mom shows emotions?" Bones asked, knowing that her mother was completely Vulcan.

"My mother was exposed to Trellium-D for quite some time. The substance erodes at a Vulcan's mental barriers. At one point in time she had no control of her emotions, but the good doctor helped her out of her problem."

"Couldn't she just not have as much contact with it?"

"Trellium-D is the only substance that stops the anomalies in the Delphic Expanse, and the ship needed protection from the anomalies. She hasn't recovered fully since."

"Wait a second, why didn't we learn about Tasari in med school if it causes so much damage to humans?" Bones asked, turning to the woman.

"Well, you see, we weren't supposed to meet with those Andorians, and we weren't following orders. The whole thing needed to be kept away from Star Fleet and the Vulcan High Command," the Vulcan hybrid told him, looking guilty. He smiled at her, knowing that the Enterprise had disobeyed her fair share of orders. "I guess we'll no longer have to deal with the Vulcan High Command about that stuff."

"Why do you say that?" Bones asked, thinking his pessimism had rubbed off on her.

"They're no longer concerned with the fleet. They're just trying to settle the Vulcan population and not get killed," Ta'kel stated matter-of-factly, as she moved to a new patient. McCoy just looked at her for a minute and chose to move on.

The day's work was hard and long. They had to inject everyone in the colonies, for the cure was also an inoculation. By the time the two retired to the house they were staying at they were exhausted. When Bones walked in he found Ta'kel reclining on the couch with a cloth on her forehead.

"You know there's a better cure for headaches," he said, walking over to her and sitting down. He took the towel off her head and replaced it with his hand, not wanting to pull out his tricorder to get a scan. "You're a little hot," he said.

"Why thank you," Ta'kel replied with a smile. "It's just a fever, nothing too bad."

"We'll see about that." McCoy pulled out his tricorder and scanned her. He noticed what seemed to be a small virus, but it looked like it could be easily taken care of. He took out a hypospray and loaded it.

"NO!" Ta'kel exclaimed, cowering back from the man. "You are not gonna use that thing on me!"

"Why not? Don't tell me you're afraid of a little injection?" McCoy mocked.

"That's not it, although I do admit those hurt." Bones chuckled. "If you use drugs for every little thing then they won't work when you really need them."

"True, but you're sick and need to get better," he argued.

"I'll get over it, it's not like this could kill me overnight," she joked.

He smiled, got up, and walked away. He heard her sigh and change positions on the couch, and then the door to his room clicked shut.

An hour later he poked his head through his door into the other room. He wasn't surprised to see Ta'kel still lying on the couch, the cloth over her head. He quietly walked over and scanned her again.

"What are you doing?" he heard her ask groggily.

"I'm making sure you're all right. The captain would have my head if anything happened to you, and Spock would support his decision."

"You got that right," she said, pointing at the man. "I'm fine, really. Stop worrying. All I need is sleep."

"You know, for a Vulcan doctor, you sure are dense." He leaned over her, tempted to fix her messy hair. He restrained himself and was glad that her eyes were covered. "If you don't get any better by tomorrow I will force you to take medicine," he informed her.

"I wouldn't expect any less."


	5. Chapter 5: Games and Tragedy

The next morning Ta'kel woke slowly. Reluctantly she got up and walked into the kitchen, where she groggily sat herself down. She sighed, holding her head up with her hands. Her head felt cooler, prompting a small smile.

"I see you're feeling better," McCoy commented as he walked in.

"You didn't inject me in the middle of the night, did you?" she asked, chuckling.

"No, don't you know, these things hurt too much to sleep through."

"True, true."

"We're heading back today," the man informed her.

"I thought as much. How's the crewman doing? He still with us?"

"Surprisingly yes. You'd think there was a curse with all the crewmen we loose."

"Yeah, they drop like flies." At that moment crewman Itena walked into the room.

"Speak of the devil," Bones commented, causing Ta'kel to have to suppress a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" the young man asked, looking confused. "Weren't you two at each other's throats the other day?"

"I do not recall," Ta'kel joked, acting as emotionless as she could, which was quite a lot.

The morning continued in a light manner. The three joked as they prepared to leave. Bones, even though he was a fairly dismal man, was having his fair share of laughs. They took off easily, with no complications or problems. They had been traveling for an hour when they passed a planet.

_Beep beep_

"What's wrong?" Ta'kel asked, spinning in her seat to face the shuttles sensors.

"I don't know, but it seems we're being pulled off course towards that planet," the crewman responded.

"Well can't you increase thruster power?" Bones asked frantically.

"No, I can't. We're already at full power!"

"I have an idea," Ta'kel said. The others looked at her. "Well, I was once on a mission…"

"We don't need to hear your life story, just tell us your idea!" Bones interrupted.

"Fine. What if we didn't fight and fly towards where we're being pulled. We'd reduce damage and may be able to land safely." The others were silent. "Well?"

"That's the worst idea ever!" Itena exclaimed. "If we get stuck on that planet we'll be in danger."

"Yeah, we don't want the poor kid to keel over," Bones added.

"What do suggest then?" Ta'kel asked as Itena glared at the doctor.

"I suggest we put everything we've got into propulsion. We might be able to break free," Bones suggested.

"It's your choice," the woman said to the younger boy, knowing he was the tiebreaker.

"His," The boy replied after a minute of thought.

The three took their places. Itena rerouted all auxiliary power to the thrusters. The stress on the ships outer hull could be felt on the inside. Little by little, the small craft was pulled down towards the planet. The whole structure shook as they broke through the atmosphere.

Tumbling around in the metal enclosing, they came to a rest on the ceiling. Ta'kel's ears were ringing and her head hurt. She felt something wet trickle down her leg and something heavy on top of her. When she tried to move she heard a deep groan of pain. She turned her head and saw the object on top of her, McCoy. She pushed him off, trying her best not to hurt him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, examining her friend.

"Just dandy," he groaned, propping himself up on his arms. Suddenly his face looked surprised and concerned. "Good God!"

"What?" the girl asked, following his line of sight. Her leg was covered with a green liquid, the cause off the wet trickle down her leg. She could see a bone breaking the surface of her skin. "Would you look at that!" she exclaimed, seemingly un-rattled by seeing her own bone.

"We need to stop the bleeding," Bones said, examining her leg.

"Yeah… why don't you let me do that while you try and find crewman Itena," Ta'kel said, taking a hold of her leg to stop the bleeding.

Bones stood up, swaying from blood rushing from his head. He made his way through the ruble on the ground, searching for the crewman. He stumbled and fell, his face landing an inch away from the crewman's hand. He uncovered the man and felt for a pulse.

"He's dead," he whispered. He turned when he heard Ta'kel yelp. "What's wrong?" he asked, getting to her as quickly as he could.

"I'm fine, where's Itena?" she asked, holding her leg that she had just snapped back into place.

"He's dead," Bones stated, starting to work on her leg. Ta'kel just stared, startled.

"Perhaps there is a curse…"

"No, there isn't. Now we have to get out of here, I need light and space." Bones helped the woman off the ground. He slung her arm around his shoulders and dragged her out of the shuttlecraft. "M class planet."

"How do you know, it could be an N class planet," Ta'kel stated, sounding a little loopy. It was clear that she had lost a lot of blood.

Bones propped her up against the hull and ventured back into the shuttlecraft to collect provisions and a med kit. He picked up his tricorder, which had fallen to the ground, and walked back out. He found Ta'kel staring up into the sky, smiling.

"Look at the birds," she was saying. When Bones looked up all he saw were clouds.

"We need to get you into some shade. You're going crazy."

McCoy picked up the Vulcan and carried her under the trees. Carefully he set her down and began to tend to her leg. It was broken and fractured multiple times.

"Damn it," he said to himself.

He got up and found a few large, sturdy sticks. He pulled off his over shirt, the blue uniform, and began to rip it up and tied her leg straight to the sticks. He took out of the kit some antibiotics and applied them.

"You look fuzzy…" Ta'kel commented before she passed out.


	6. Chapter 6: Survival

Opening her eyes she saw only grey. She began to panic as she thought she had gone blind, but then she saw the light flickering against the grey. She was looking up at the ceiling of a cave and could feel a fire next to her. She sat up, but immediately fell back with a headache.

"You're awake!" she heard someone exclaim. She turned her head and saw Bones, but more interestingly, with only his grey undershirt on. He moved over to her and felt her forehead. "You've been feverish for days, but it seems to be coming down."

"Where are we? And where's the crewman?" She sat up trying to move her leg. She winced in pain, "My leg! What happened?"

"We crashed on a planet. Crewman Itena is dead and your leg was broken."

"And you were unharmed?"

"Would you call this unharmed?" he asked, showing a gash along his arm.

"Oh… What happened to your shirt?" she asked, looking away from him.

"It's around your leg." She glanced down and saw the blue fabric tied there. "I needed to splint your leg and that was the best thing I had to do it."

"Thank you. How long have we been here?"

"A few days. Here, drink this" She took the canteen he passed her. She took a long drink form it, realizing how thirsty she actually was. "I've tried to contact someone, but no one's in range of the communicator I set up."

"Well you're just a doctor, what do you know about communicators?" she joked. He glared at her. "Let me see what you're trying." He picked up a small device and handed it to the woman. "This is good, for short ranged transmissions, but this can only go a light-year or two, no use in our situation. If I had a few more things from the shuttle I could make it more long-range and we could broadcast an S.O.S on all subspace broadbands. Just help me up and I'll…"

"No you won't!" he exclaimed, pushing her back down. "You are not to move from this spot. Tell me what you need and I'll get it."

"Fine," she picked up a flat stone and a piece of charcoal and wrote a list of things down. "I made a list since I know you'd forget if I just told you."

"Way to have faith in the man who saved your life." He grabbed the stone from her. "Why is my shirt on here?"

"Because I need your shirt."

"Why don't you use your own?"

"I'm wearing a dress, dumbass! And besides, you're a man and I'm a woman, it's all right for me to see your chest, not the other way around."

"Fine," he mumbled and walked off towards the wreck.

He returned some time later with all of the items. Ta'kel inspected the pile and frowned.

"You still have your shirt on."

"I'm keeping the shirt on until you really need it," Bones said, crossing his arms.

"Are the nights cold?" she asked as she began to work.

"Not really. We have a fire and some standard blankets. Why?"

"I need your shirt now," she smirked looking up at the man.

"Damned green blooded bitch!" he cussed as he removed his shirt.

"Thank you," she said, yanking the shirt from the man's hands. She added it into a seemingly random place in the contraption.

The now shirtless man sat down and sighed. He picked up a fruit off the ground and bit into it.

"You don't know what that'll do to you," Ta'kel commented, not looking up from her work.

"I've been eating them for days and nothing bad has happened yet. Besides, I scanned every single one of them and there's nothing that could kill a human or a Vulcan in them, so suck it up. You've had some yourself."

"Well give me some then, I'm starving." He tossed her a fruit and she took a bite.

Bones watched her work for a couple of minutes. He was exhausted after taking care of her for the past few days all by himself, and had no idea what to do. He decided to scan her again, making sure that she was recovering well.

"Damned fucking shit!" she exclaimed. Bones chuckled. "Damned thing'll take a lot more to keep it together."

"So I'll get my shirt back?" Bones asked, letting himself be hopeful.

"No, just means I'll need to use a phaser too."

"How delightful," the man murmured in response.

He pulled out his phaser and offered it to her. She took it and set it to a low setting, using it like a soldering tool to bind two things together. She fiddled with the things that Bones had given her until she let out a happy cry. She flipped a switch and a green light turned on.

"That should do the trick!" she said, happy with her accomplishment. "It should be sending out a distress signal now. All we have to do is wait for someone to come rescue us."

"Might be a while."

"Why do you say that?"

"I heard that there were a few Orion women on the space station that the Enterprise was supposed to be at. Jim won't give up the chance to have one of those girls in his company, if you know what I mean."

"I hate Orions! They almost caused the destruction of the original Enterprise."

"So why does it seem that you hate them on a personal level?"

"Dr. Phlox served on the Enterprise. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Bones stared at the woman. He had noticed that she was more attached to Dr. Phlox than most students are to their mentors, but it only seemed to be when it had something to do with the Enterprise.

"What should we do until we're found?" Ta'kel asked, breaking Bones's thoughts.

"I don't know," he replied, "perhaps we…"

"Try and make the best of being here?" Ta'kel suggested. Bones stared at her, and took another bite of his food.

"What if someone who isn't Star Fleet picks up the signal?" he asked, worrying about Star Fleet's enemies.

"It's on a protected band width. Only Star Fleet vessels can pick it up. Don't worry, I've done this before." she assured him, chuckling.

"You've been stranded on a planet before?"

"You haven't?" she asked. He stared at her, un-amused. "I've been stranded about three times, all three I got out somewhat unharmed."

"Somewhat?"

"Well, I've had injuries from how I got on the planet, but nothing else."

"Well, now you have a broken leg. If you had been alone you would've died."

"Yeah, and if you were alone then you would've been stuck on this planet with no hope of rescue. Face it, we need each other, no matter how much we try to deny it."

Bones murmured something to himself and got up. He began to walk out of the cave.

"Where are you going?" Ta'kel asked, looking after him.

"To see what else I can find on this God forsaken planet," he replied in his regular tone.

"You've been here for days, didn't you get a chance to do that before?"

"No, 'cause I was too busy looking after you!" Bones stated and then was out of sight.

"All right," Ta'kel stated, more to herself than him, for she knew he was out of earshot.


	7. Chapter 7: Found

_Captain's logs, Star Ship Enterprise. Doctor McCoy and Lieutenant Ta'kel have been on their mission for a week. Their last communication was four days ago, and they are not responding to any hails. When we reached the rendezvous point they weren't there. We waited two days, thinking maybe they needed more time, but my First Officer then convinced me to take the ship to the planet they were on. When we arrived they informed us that the away team left days earlier. Now we are searching for the away team._

_Beep Beep_

"Keptin! Distress transmission is being peked up, coming from ze planet. Ze signature is Star Fleet, Sir!" Ensign Chekov stated excitedly.

"Scan the surface for ships," Kirk ordered.

"There is a shuttle craft crashed on the surface of the planet sir," Spock replied.

"Survivors?" the Captain asked.

"Scanners are picking up three humanoid life forms. It seems all three survived the crash," Spock replied.

"See if we can get a comm. link to them. I want to know why they crashed and if we're in danger," the Captain ordered, leaning forward in his chair.

"Comm. link established sir," Uhura said, swiveling in her chair.

"Good. Bones, Ta'kel, Itena, can you hear me?" the Captain said. They heard noise over the comm. and then a voice, faint behind the interference.

"Jim?" It was clearly Bones' voice. "Well it took you long enough! You just had to leave us on this God forsaken planet for this long! Do you know what I've gone through?"

"It's good to hear you're alright," Jim joked.

"I wouldn't say that," Ta'kel said, finally raising her voice. "Don't get too close to the planet, Kirk. Something was pulling us towards the planet and we have no idea what it was."

"Noted," Kirk said. He addressed Sulu, "Keep as far as you can to still be able to communicate with them."

"Aye, aye, sir," replied Sulu.

"Do you need any medical help?" Spock asked, getting to the real questions.

"Ta'kel has a broken leg, but she's been stable for days, so feel free to take your time," McCoy ended sarcastically.

"Is crewman Itena unharmed?" Jim asked, chuckling.

There was a long silence. "He's dead Jim."

"He was a brave man," Jim said in a solemn tone.

"Captain, I detected three humanoid life forms on the planet," Spock reminded the blonde man. "All three were living."

"So?"

"That means that they are not alone on that planet."

The gravity of the statement hit Kirk. "Bones, have you seen anyone else on the planet?"

"No, but I'm assuming this is a pretty large planet. Why do you ask?"

"There's a third humanoid life form on the planet's surface," Spock explained.

"Well, we haven't seen it! Now find a way to get us out of here! I'm a doctor, not a survival expert!"

"We'll try," Kirk responded.

"You better!"

The comm. link clicked off and Kirk turned to his first officer.

"Suggestions?"

"Mr. Scott claims to be able to transport a life form from one planet to the adjacent planet in the system. Surely he is able to beam them from the surface this close to the planet."

"Good, get Scotty down to the transporter room and have him beam them up."

"What should we do about the third humanoid life form?"

Kirk paused, thinking. "It is very likely that the life form had something to do with the shuttle crashing," Kirk thought out loud. "See if there is anyway to hail him. If not… well, we'll think of what to do then."

"Sir! Klingon vessel materializing!" Spock informed.

"Shields up! Arm phasers!" Kirk ordered.

"Phasers armed sir."

"Fire!"

On the view screen a line of light extended to hit the Klingon vessel, hitting its shield. The phasers fired again, hitting the vessel and causing a burst of light. Once the light cleared the Klingon ship was gone. Kirk spun in his chair to face Spock.

"Report!" he commanded.

"We took no damage, sir," Spock reported. Suddenly he looked surprised. "Sir, the life signs on the planet have disappeared!"

Kirk looked at his first officer in surprise. "Scan for a warp signature and follow that ship!"


	8. Chapter 8: Capture

**Mature content in this chapter. If you don't want to read a very adult situation, skip this chapter. I think the story won't be too confusing if you skip it.**

* * *

Ta'kel opened her eyes and saw the grey ceiling of what she knew was a Klingon ship. Groaning, she tried to move, but soon realized that she was secured to the table she was on. She struggled and started to scream, trying to move her arms out from underneath her. Her leg had been healed, but was still quite sore. She stopped when she heard the door slide open and footsteps on the metal floor of the room.

"Don't struggle, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," said an oily voice. She contorted her body to see the speaker, a very large, well built, Klingon male. "Lieutenant Ta'kel of the U.S.S Enterprise, you will be well paid for on either side. I'm sure your parents would do anything to get you back, even betray the Federation, and that there are people on Qo'noS that'd love to see you brutally killed."

"You scum bag! Let me out of these chains and fight me like a warrior! You un-honorable son of a bitch! Your mother's forehead was smooth!" He smacked her across the face at that comment.

"For a Vulcan you sure do have a Klingon spirit."

"I have no such thing!"

"Oh, but you do. You would just love to rip my head off right now, wouldn't you? In fact, knowing that you'd do that if you had the chance makes me… excited."

"You pervert! Release me this instant! I demand you to unhand me, you fucking sicko! I'll kill you where you stand!"

"Well, we wouldn't want that would we, because you and I both know that I have your friend too, and if anything happens to me he dies," the man commented, nonchalantly.

"Bones…" Ta'kel whispered under her breath. "You don't lay a hand on him!"

"Why would I lay my hand on a male when I have a perfectly good female to… lay my… hands on." His hand caressed her exposed stomach, making her realize that her uniform was gone. Her undergarments were all that was left, leaving most of her skin visible. "You are a very attractive female… for a Vulcan."

"Human-Vulcan! And don't you get any ideas. I'll make you a woman if you lay another hand on me!"

"I'd like to see you try!" he exclaimed, rushing towards her. He took a bite out of her cheek, causing her to wince in pain. "Your blood tastes… fiery…"

"I bet it's the first female blood you've tasted!" she retorted, knowing fully well what she was implying.

"For your information, I have women lined up outside my door just to see me fight. I've tasted enough of their blood to fill what you humans call a swimming pool."

"Only figures, it's the ones that don't get much that brag. I'm guessing that you want information, but you won't get it," she spat in his face. Green liquid dripped off of her to form a pool on the floor below her.

"I never expected any. All I want is satisfaction, and that includes your friend watching as I ruin you." The man smirked and the doors slid open. Bones was pushed in, his hands and feet bound.

"Ta'kel!" he exclaimed when he saw the woman strapped to the table. "You let her go! If you lay a hand on her I'll…" He was gagged before he could finish his threat.

"Oh, I intend to lay a hand on her… and much more."

He leaned over her body and ran his tongue from her bellybutton up to the bottom of her bra. Taking a hold of the front of her bra he pulled back, releasing to make it snap against her skin. Ta'kel winced with pain as he started to cut her bra off with his knife, also cutting into her skin. The Klingon licked the green blood off of her chest and started to suck on her nipples, piercing the skin with his sharp teeth.

His clawed hands began to work their way down her body. She winced as he began to rub her, her eyes brimming with tears. He took out his dagger again and cut off her underwear. Shivers were sent up her body as the cold steel touched her. He began to rub her more and more, biting hard on her nipple. She tried her hardest not to make a noise. She could hear Bones's muffled screams as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

The man then moved between her legs. He leaned over her body and grabbed her neck, squeezing as hard as he knew he could without her passing out.

"If you think you've experienced pain, you know nothing yet," he whispered, an evil smirk appearing on his face.

He released her and began to remove the garments covering his member. Like most other parts of a Klingon, it was much bigger than a normal human's. He started to rub it in-between her legs, causing her to gasp. She heard McCoy's muffled scream of protest and the laughs of the other Klingons in the room. Tears ran down Ta'kel's face as the Klingon continued to rub himself against her.

Then the Klingon pushed into her, causing her to scream. She began to weep as he moved himself in and out. As his speed picked up, so did the pain. She began to shriek in pain with each of his movements, wishing that he had just tortured or killed her instead. He started to move at an incredible rate, a constant scream emitting from the woman. This was the first time that Bones had seen the woman cry, and he wished that he hadn't been forced to watch. She shrieked and screamed, crying uncontrollably.

The Klingon finished abruptly, his head thrown back in a scream of pleasure. He pulled out and removed the shackles on her ankles, pushing her to the ground. She landed with a smack and lay there, panting, unable to move with the pain that was now coursing through her.

The other Klingons, laughing, untied Bones. He ran to Ta'kel and threw himself down at the floor. Still laughing, the Klingons left the room, locking the door behind them. The two sat on the floor, Ta'kel being rocked in Bones's arms.

"I promise you, I will never let that happen again. I'd die before I saw you go through that pain again," he whispered to her. She wept into his shoulder, not hearing anything he said.

"Don't leave me," she whispered.

"I promise, I never will. I never will."


	9. Chapter 9: Rescue

The ship shook and the lights turned red. Bones was woken by the jolt, and he sat up immediately. Ta'kel was passed out next to him, clearly too traumatized to be conscious. He heard phaser fire and screams on the other side of the door and ran up to start banging on it.

"Help!" he screamed, still banging on the door.

"Bones?" he heard someone call from the other side of the door. "Bones, is that you?"

"Yes! Get us out! Ta'kel needs help!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, stand back!" the voice called.

McCoy ran back over to Ta'kel and covered her up as much as he could. He picked her up as he felt the door incinerate behind him. Jim was standing in the doorway when he turned, Spock standing behind him.

"What happened to her?" Spock asked, quickly moving beside the two, concern showing in his voice.

"A long story that I don't wish to tell. We need to get back to the ship, now!"

"We can't transport until we take over the ship, the shields are still up," Kirk said, shooting a Klingon that tried to attack him.

"Then we have to sabotage the ship's systems!" Bones exclaimed.

"Right, it will be done," Spock said, moving over to a panel. He began to press buttons and after a minute they could hear the weapons and shields powering down.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_, four to beam up, straight to sickbay," he said after taking out his comm..

Pretty soon they dematerialized and Bones saw sickbay appearing in front of him. As soon as they were there he placed Ta'kel on a bio-bed.

"Get to work on her," he instructed some of the medical staff. He hopped up on a bed himself and started to examine his own wounds, which were very minimal. He heard the other medical staff say something about Ta'kel, but by then he was already passed out.


	10. Chapter 10: Sickbay

Bones woke with a start in a cold sweat. He looked around the dimmed sickbay and saw Ta'kel laying on a bed, asleep, breathing normal. She was in standard patient garb and was covered by a standard blanket. He walked over to her, seeing the stress of the past day on her face.

She began to toss in her sleep, her mouth opening in a scream. Tears ran down her face over the bite mark on her cheek. Her arms began to flail, as if she was trying to bat away an attacker. Bones grabbed one of her hands, and, suddenly, she stopped. She was breathing hard now, he chest raising and falling inconsistently. She pulled his hand close to her, treasuring it like it was her only lifeline. He stood there, not wanting to move, and watched her sleep turn peaceful again.

"Ehhem," said someone from behind him. He turned and saw Uhura leaning against the doorframe. "Is now a bad time?"

"What?" Bones asked, irritated at her for interrupting.

"I read the report on her. That's a bite mark on her cheek, isn't it?" The man nodded. "It had Klingon DNA in it…"

"I know," he replied, trying to forget the scene he saw.

"She also had Klingon DNA… in…her."

"I know," he whispered, feeling tears come to his eyes.

"What happened?" Uhura softly asked. If it had been anyone else he would've told him or her it was doctor patient confidentiality, but this was Uhura, the woman who had made a Vulcan feel. Ta'kel let go of his hand and he walked over to the woman. Before he knew what was happening, he had slumped to the ground and his head hung.

"Bones!" Uhura exclaimed, kneeling next to the doctor. "What's wrong?"

"I let it happen. It happened right in front of me, and I couldn't stop it," he began to sob, not knowing why he was getting so bothered by this.

"Couldn't stop what?" Uhura asked, concerned about her friend.

"What that Klingon did to her. They forced me to watch, and I couldn't do anything. I felt so… helpless."

"Oh dear," Uhura wrapped her arms around the man.

"And when he was finished with her he just threw her on the ground like she was nothing. I could've killed him right then and there, but I didn't. I just ran to her and worried."

"Maybe that was the best thing for you to do." Bones looked up, confused. "If you had tried to kill him they would've killed you, and if you had died, well, Ta'kel might not have made it through. You did the best thing you could."

"But I still feel like I could've done more," he said, hanging his head. He was so upset with himself for not being able to protect her.

"You did all you could." Uhura took a hold of his chin and raised his face so they were looking eye to eye. "And now that you're back, we can track down that ship and make sure that scum bag gets what's coming to him." Bones gave a weak smile, knowing she meant to cheer him up with that. "Hey, she'll recover. She's a strong woman, it won't take her long."

"That's what you think. Mental damage is worse than physical damage."

"Well, if she hasn't suffered permanent mental damage from the rest of the crazy things in her life she won't suffer permanent damage here." Uhura smiled at the doctor, hoping for once he wouldn't be so pessimistic.

"Maybe you're right…" he admitted after a minute.

"I'm always right, just ask Spock."

Bones laughed. "I'm sure you have him trained well."

"True to that. Hey, you want to go down to the rec-room? I heard Jim challenged Spock to a game of chess. I think it'll be fun."

"Thanks for the invite, but I have work to catch up on here. You go ahead, I might join you later."

"Alright, don't over work yourself." Uhura waved and walked out the door.

Bones sighed and walked into his office. He picked up a PADD and began to work. He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice the woman get up from the bio-bed in the other room and walk into his office. She stood at the doorway and watched the man at work. He looked peaceful in his work, a good change to the nightmares she was having and the scene she saw when she closed her eyes. She smiled when she saw his brow furrow; she assumed he had come across something he couldn't understand.

"Need some help with that?" she asked, forcing a smile. Bones looked up, startled.

"Ta'kel! You're awake!" he exclaimed, getting up from behind his desk. He was quickly at her side. "Are you all right? You shouldn't be up right now."

"I know, I know. But I can't stand being in there alone… so let me work," she pleaded, her eyes showing just how hurt she was.

Bones sighed in defeat. "Fine, you can complete the analysis of Ensign Halcota. His annual check up was put off for a month, thanks to Scotty insisting on the engineers working their damned asses off until he got those whacha-macalits working!"

The woman chuckled. "It's just like Scotty to endanger other members of the crew to improve those engines that he so loves." It was clear that Ta'kel still resented the Scottish man, even if she was becoming more accepting.

"That man is gonna get us all killed with a stunt of his."

"He's not the one with the stunts, it's Jim, Scotty's just the one that makes them happen."

"So we should blame Jim when we end up in a million pieces because some experiment to increase engine efficiency messed up?"

"No, that's all Scotty. But we do blame Jim when the ship gets wrecked after he thinks it'll be fun to remove the inertial dampeners and do a barrel roll."

"I can see him doing that," Bones replied, knowing all too well what went on in Jim's head.

Ta'kel began her work quietly, seeming distant. Bones knew the psychological damage that she had probably received, and he began to worry about her. He had been looking at her for a while when he caught her smiling.

"What?" he asked, surprised at the lack of damage she seemed to have.

"You've been staring for a while now, do you want to ask me something?" she inquired, "Or are you just captivated by my beauty?"

"I'm just zoning out, nothing more," he defended.

"Of course you are."

The woman worked silently for a few minutes before putting the work down and looking at the man.

"You said you'll protect me from this happening ever again. That you'd rather die than see that again, that you'd never leave me. Why?"

Surprised that she remembered that, he turned to face the Vulcan, "I guess I said that because… well," he stopped to think, not sure why he really did that. "I guess it's because you're my friend, and I don't want to see any of my friends hurt."

A small smile appeared on her face. "You are a wonderful friend, Bones. All of us are lucky to have you." She walked over behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, so much."

He smiled and felt his face grow hot. "It's nothing, really. Now stop. I'm a doctor, not a therapist."

"But you are somewhat like one. You do have to judge mental health in your reports," Ta'kel pointed out. She let go of him and walked back over to her work. "Besides, you can be a good friend without being a therapist. I think you just use that 'I'm a doctor not a…' line as a defense."

"Against what?" he asked annoyed.

"I'll let you figure that out."

Ta'kel returned to her work, smiling to herself. Bones decided to leave it alone and returned to his work as well. About fifteen minutes later he looked up and saw her asleep in her chair. He smiled at the sight of her being so peaceful.

Getting up he assessed the situation. He knew that she wouldn't have a good sleep if she was in the chair, but he didn't want to risk waking her up, for he knew it was hard for her to sleep after her experience.

Making his decision he picked up the sleeping woman and began to walk towards the bed. She sighed and pressed her face against his chest, making him smile. He set her down in the bed and covered her with the Star Fleet issue sheets. He was happy to see her snuggle in and smile to herself. About what, he had no idea.


	11. Chapter 11: Comfort

_Damn it,_ Bones thought as he was awakened from his rest by the knocks at the door. _Don't they know knocking is the worst sound to wake up to? Why not just use the comm.?_ He pulled himself out of his bed, groaning at how stiff he felt. He picked up a pair of pants and pulled them on, not bothering to find a shirt.

Dragged himself to the door, he turned on the lights only to hiss in disgust. He liked that his computer had been programmed to dim the lights when he hissed, and thanked Kirk for his birthday present.

"What do ya want?" he snapped as the door flew open.

He quickly became quiet as he saw who was there. A very sad and wet Ta'kel stood in his doorway. He knew her face would've been streaked with tears if she hadn't been soaking wet. Her bottom lip quivered as she looked him in the eyes before she launched herself at him. He wrapped his arms around the woman, not caring that he was getting wet too. Pressed against his bare chest she felt safe and secure, as if everything was always going to be all right. He began backing up, pulling her into the room with him. Leading her to the couch, he wrapped her in a blanket to dry her off.

"How did you get soaked?" he questioned.

"I was in the sonic-shower," she explained through chattering teeth.

"In your clothes?"

"I was feeling really sad, so I thought I'd take a shower. It only took longer to take clothes off."

Bones scoffed. "Your logic is baffling."

"I'm sorry…" Ta'kel sounded sad around the shivers that ran through her.

"No need to be. Your freezing." Bones got up and walked back to his bed. He pulled the duvet off and proceeded to wrap it around the shivering Vulcan on his couch. "What's wrong?"

"Nightmares… horrible ones. And every time I close my eyes I see the same thing." Bones wiped a tear off her cheek as it streaked down her face. "I feel helpless and vulnerable."

"I'm here for you," Bones cooed softly. He stroked her red hair and shushed her. "Why'd you come to me?" He was curious why she didn't go to Uhura or someone she knew better than him.

"Because you were there… and I don't want others to know." Sighing, she snuggled into his chest, breathing in his sweet scent. "You smell good," she commented.

"That's an odd thing to tell a man."

She scowled at him, even if it was a weak one. She knew she'd never have as good a scowl as Bones had. He was the master. As the thought crossed her mind she chuckled, a smile lighting up her face.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, a smile threatening on his mouth. Somehow, just seeing her smile made him happy, and he wanted to know what had caused that happiness.

"I was just thinking, you're the master of scowling. I could never be as great as you."

"No one will ever be as great as me," he replied. She laughed, her beautiful laugh, the one that the world had been deprived of for a while now. The two fell silent for a moment. Not the tense type of silent, the kind that no one likes, but the kind where both were content just to be in each other's presence.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Ta'kel asked, startling Bones a little. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face as he thought, then smiled at her.

"Of course you can," he said, unconsciously pulling her closer. Her warm body close to him felt so natural, he never wanted to let go, although he knew he would have to. Despite knowing that, he would make the most of this.

**Guess what... Bones sleeps naked! XD**

**Sorry for the long wait, I had this done for a while but was lazy... oh well.**

**Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12: T'jin K'jal

Bones looked up as he heard footsteps coming into his office. He saw Ta'kel standing in the doorway, but she looked different. Her red hair was curled and pulled up, a blue ribbon tying it. She had a long, light blue dress on with short sleeves and a square cut neck. A light blue bow was tied below her breasts, and a gold chain hung at her neck.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Bones asked, turning back to his work.

"Didn't you hear? We're going down to a primitive planet; Scotty won't shut up about how much dilithium is down there. We have to dress like they do down there so we blend in, and the Captain wants you to come down to the surface. Have fun getting dressed." She threw a pile of clothes at him and left the room, laughing.

Later, McCoy entered the shuttle hanger grumbling. His outfit was fitting of him, being darkly colored with little flare. Under the dark coat he wore a grey vest, both of these having two lines of three buttons. Also, he wore knee high, black boots. The others that were going on the mission were in the hanger. Uhura was in a long white dress, her hair in a bun with a white wrap. She had a pearl necklace and a fan. Kirk was wearing clothes very much like McCoy's, but they were lighter in color, and a little looser on him. It was always like him to pick the shortest and tightest pants he could. Spock was also wearing old styled clothes, mostly grays as well. The clothes looked almost natural on him, as if the style was made especially for him.

"You finally decided to join us!" Kirk exclaimed, "How wonderful!"

"Thanks for dragging me along," Bones replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Jim replied, slapping Bones on the shoulder.

"I hate you."

"I know."

"Are you two gonna just keep on talking or are we gonna leave?" Uhura asked from inside the shuttle.

"Are ya sure I can't come, Cap'in?" Scotty asked, his Scottish accent showing through. "Ya know I'd be able to recognize the dilithium when I saw it, sirha."

"I know Scotty, but I need someone to look after the ship while I'm gone," Kirk explained, smiling at the Engineer.

"Aye, sir. But I'm not happy about it."

"We all know that," Ta'kel said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's get going."

The five piled into the shuttle and they took off. They took their seats and were quiet while they descended onto the planet. They landed in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

"Where do we start looking?" Kirk said, stretching in the morning sun.

Spock pulled out his tricorder and scanned the area. Ta'kel was very amused when she saw the confused look on his face.

"Apparently, Captain, we could go in any direction and find it."

"Scotty would be so happy right now," Kirk chuckled, choosing a direction and walking.

"Scotty would be happy, which is why he isn't here." Ta'kel smirked, still wanting vengeance on the engineer.

"You're so mean to the poor guy!" Uhura exclaimed, "You do know he has saved everyone's life at least once!"

"Yeah, but the dog!"

"The dog!" Kirk joined in, knowing what they were talking about. "You have to let the dog go!"

"What are they going on about?" Bones asked Spock, having no idea what was going on.

"I believe the beagle that Mr. Scott misplaced years ago," the Vulcan answered.

"Misplaced?"

"With a transporter."

"Ah. That makes so much more sense."

"I'm glad I could clarify."

"Sarcasm, man. Learn to recognize it." Bones walked after the rest of the group, leaving Spock to himself. The man merely lifted an eyebrow in curiosity and followed his shipmates.

They walked for a while, listening to Kirk talk non-stop. Ta'kel was relieved when they came to a town because Kirk finally shut up, and she could tell that Bones felt the same way. The streets were paved with stones in a clearly not thought out way. There were carriages that were pulled by a three-legged creature that reminded Ta'kel of an earth horse, but clumsier. It was a relief to see that the people on the planet looked a lot like humans, and that they had a wide range of skin colors, so Spock's creamy white skin and Uhura's deep tan wouldn't be a problem.

"Well, let's get goin!" Kirk made to jump out of the bushes, but Spock grabbed his collar and held him back.

"What do you think people's reactions would be to five people popping out of a bush?" Spock asked. Kirk thought for a second, and then realized his mistake. "We will have to search for a place where not many people will see us."

The group walked along side the road in the bushes, looking for a place outside of the town that not many people came by. Ta'kel's back and legs began to hurt with all the crouching and walking. She reminded herself to get back at both Kirk and Spock later.

When they came to the edge of the forest they waited until there was no one in sight. They crawled out of the low bushes, each grunting in turn. Ta'kel placed her hands on her back and leaned backwards, creating a loud series of cracks. Uhura chuckled as Kirk looked around, wondering what the loud sound was.

"What was that?" he asked, still looking around.

"My back," Ta'kel replied. Uhura chuckled more and so did Bones.

The five walked back along the road towards the town. They joked and made fun of each other, as if they were on shore leave and not on a mission. Coming into the town they began to quiet down, not sure how to proceed from there.

"Well, if we're gonna be here for a while we'll need shelter," Ta'kel pointed out when she saw an inn on the other side of the street.

"Yes, but how will we pay?" Uhura asked.

"I am sure your necklace would buy us a night or so," Spock said, as logically as ever.

"But… I like this necklace…" Uhura grabbed the pearls at her throat.

"I am sorry if I am intruding, but I could not help but over hear," a man said from behind the group. They turned to find a well-groomed, very high-class man. His brown hair was long but well kept, a pair of sideburns completing the look. "If you need a place to stay, I am sure that I can accommodate you. I would not want two beautiful young women to not have a place to stay the night. What kind of a gentlemen would I be if I allowed this?"

Ta'kel looked over at Uhura and smiled. The man was clearly hitting on the two and Ta'kel intended to take full advantage of it. She turned to look at the others reactions and, sure enough, Kirk had a grin on his face, Spock seemed indifferent, and Bones was very unhappy.

"We would be happy to accept your invitation, surely, but I believe that my colleagues and I should have a chance to converse before we make a decision," Ta'kel said politely. She pulled the group into a small huddle and began to speak in a low voice. "What do you think we should do?"

"I don't trust this man," Bones informed the group.

"You say that about a lot of people."

"I never say that!"

"I believe that this opportunity should be taken advantage of. It is illogical to take the time to trek back and forth between the shuttle everyday, when we can just stay here," Spock said.

"I think Spick is right!" Kirk said, trying to annoy Spock by changing his name.

"All right. What are we gonna call ourselves?" Ta'kel brought up another problem.

"We'll just make it up as we go," Kirk said, completely careless. The group broke and Kirk walked up to the man smiling. "We'll take your offer Mr.…"

"K'jal," the man filled in. "T'jin K'jal."

"Great to meet you! I'm J'mes K'rik," Kirk renamed himself, making Ta'kel chuckle.

"Good to meet you as well, J'K. May I be honored with knowing the names of these two beauties?" the man asked.

"T'kel T'ker," Ta'kel introduced herself, hoping the name was valid.

"T'T? How odd…" the man began to ponder. "And what about this other beauty?"

"N'ota U'rah."

"N'U, a pleasure." The man took Uhura's hand and kissed it.

"Well, T'K," Kirk said, catching on to the names. "This here is B'nes M'coy," he slapped McCoy on the back, "And S'pok U'rah."

"U'rah? It is the same as the beautiful lady? Well, clearly you are not sibling so that must mean, you are joined?"

Uhura glared at Kirk before she smiled at T'jin to respond. "Yes, we are." She took the Vulcan's hand in her own and leaned on him, hoping it was a sign of affection in this culture.

"A long and prosperous life to you both," T'jin remarked. "Please, follow me. I will take you to my house."

The five followed the man, Uhura still mad at Kirk. "What were you thinking?" she whispered.

"That Spock didn't have a last name and that if I hesitated he would notice," Kirk replied.

"You failed to realize that the 'last' name here might be the 'first' name on Earth," Spock pointed out.

"Why did you name me B'nes?" Bones asked, un-amused.

"Cause your first name seemed too long," Kirk replied, a grin on his face still.

"I hate you."

"I know you do."

The streets were bustling with people. The group followed the native down the winding streets and avenues. T'K was talking to the large group, telling them about the city they were now in. He seemed delighted to be in their company, which caused Kirk to wonder if everyone of this species was so generous.

"Why are you here in town?" T'jin asked, breaking the conversation.

"We were traveling and were robbed. They took almost everything, and this was the first town we came to," Spock explained without hesitation. Ta'kel admired how he could think on his toes.

"That is terrible!" T'jin exclaimed. "We will have to report this. But first, we will get you settled. A bath, maybe, and some food." He quickened his pace, a new spring in his step.

"A bath? I haven't had one of those since I was little," Ta'kel commented to her friends.

"It might be thought of as rude to decline," Spock said logically.

"Yeah, and he's bound to give us new clothes!" Uhura added excitedly.

They came to the end of the street at a large gate set in a long stonewall. Through the metal bars the group could see a large building. It looked to be a palace, with large marble pillars holding up a balcony above the large double doors. Gold glinted off of almost every surface, making the façade garish in the afternoon light. Despite that the group was still awed by the building in front of them.

"Welcome to my humble abode," T'jin said as the gates swung open before them.


	13. Chapter 13: The Rooms

They were shown to rooms, each different in it's own way but still beautiful. Spock and Uhura were given a room that was almost all green. The large bed looked fluffy and had a canopy over it. Ta'kel noticed that it could be pulled aside to block sight of the bed. There was a room separator and a copper bathtub, but only one.

Kirk's room was very much the same, except it was golden and red. The double bed had dozens of pillows on it and the window gave a wonderful view of the garden. There was a window seat for him to enjoy the view.

Bones' room was next. It seemed too bright and open for him. The soft blue made Ta'kel happy, and the bed looked comfy. She couldn't help but notice what looked like a liquor cabinet in a corner of the room with two chairs right by it. Ta'kel bet against herself that that would be the first thing he investigated.

Finally, Ta'kel was shown to her room. Managing to hold in a squeal of delight she examined her room in wonder. The soft pink of the walls looked pale compared to the deep red of the duvet. The hard wood floor was covered in a fine rug that she guessed cost a lot of whatever this culture used for money. A vanity holding cosmetics was against the wall in front of the bed, the large mirror reflecting the image of the bed. The large window, like Jim's, looked out over the garden and had a comfy little seat on it. A bookcase reached from the floor to the ceiling and was packed tight with books.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, more to herself than to T'jin.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied. She turned to him and smiled, noticing the relaxed stance he was in, leaning against the doorframe. "I will inform the servants to get clothes for you and your friends to wear tonight. For now I shall leave you. Good day."

"Good day." She waved at his back and waited for the door to click shut before launching herself onto the bed.

Squealing with joy she hung over the side and lifted up the bed skirt, checking under the bed. Noting, completely clean, a good hiding spot. Rolling off to fall with a thud onto the floor, she practically crawled over to the bookcase, huge smile plastered on her face. This was too good to be true. A cute alien gentleman giving her a place to stay, and one this beautiful, for free. She pulled one of the books off the self.

It was written in hieroglyphs and very beautiful. She couldn't seem to figure out what it was saying so she replaced it on the shelf, careful to put it back exactly where it came from. Getting back to her feet she wandered over to the vanity and picked up some of the cosmetics there. There was lip paints and blush and eye paints of all colors. She decided she would use them at any chance she got, having always loved old-fashioned style.

As she further investigated the room she noticed the small tub tucked into the corner. She walked over to it, wondering if the house had plumbing or if servants would bring up the water. There was a faucet on the copper tub, so she assumed it would fill itself. What seemed to be shampoos and soaps were set out next to the bath, so she decided she would bathe.

Turning on the water, she slipped out of her dress, letting the fabric pool at her feet. She had already lost her shoes somewhere in the room, so she focused on removing her gold chain and the layers of undergarments required for the dress. Quickly, she undid her hair and stepped into the lukewarm water.

A chill of pleasure shot up her spine at the sensation of being surrounded by warm water. To fit into the tub she had to bend her legs and slouch a little, but she was still comfortable. Her hair hadn't gotten wet yet, and hung over the side of the bathtub in a waterfall of red. She had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be sitting in a bath with no hurry at all.

In a spontaneous decision she plunged under the water. Looking up through the water, the ceiling of her room looked distorted, and all she could hear was the sloshing of the water against the copper walls. She stayed under for as long as she could, which was quite a while, before breaking back through the surface of the water to gasp for breath. Running hands through her long, soaking hair she heard the light noise of the door creaking open.

Frozen where she was, she listened intently for any more sounds that would alert her to another person in the room. There it was, a small catch of breath. Moving her arms to cover herself she turned to face the door. Her surprise melted into annoyance as she recognized Dr. McCoy standing in her doorway.

"Did you want something?" she asked. Her words were cut short and her voice strained in annoyance.

"I heard a large thump from here and was wondering what had happened and if you were all right. But it seems that you are… so I'll go." He spoke quickly, his eyes thoroughly focused on the ceiling as if the most interesting thing in the Universe were there.

"It took you this long to check? I must've been under the water for a good few minutes."

"I knocked a few times and there was no answer, and I wasn't completely sure the noise was from this room…" His face was bright red and his voice was shaky, a strong contrast to how he usually acted.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," Ta'kel commented.

"What!" Bones was caught off guard.

"A female body, especially mine. You've seen it before."

"Just because I've seen it doesn't mean it's appropriate for me to see it now," he said exasperated. Turning, he quickly left the room before Ta'kel could respond, closing the door behind him. Exasperated, Ta'kel sighed and continued her bath.


End file.
